This was a recipe request to make over Cafe Rio's sweet pork recipe, only problem is I've never eaten at Cafe Rio. After reading dozens of copycat recipes, I came up with my own lightened up version, which was a huge hit in my home. We had enough for several meals, and made a burrito bowl out of the leftovers with cilantro lime rice, black beans (recipe coming soon), pico de gallo, lettuce, avocado and a little low fat cheese. But this was also great served over rice.

Sweet Pork Burrito Bowl

The crock pot is parked on my counter lately, it's so helpful on the days I have to go in to work. What can beat coming home from work and smelling dinner just about ready!

Since the marinade gets tossed after it cooks, I wasn't sure how to calculate, so I counted half the sugar and cola from the marinade just to be sure. Adjust the heat to your liking, this is medium heat, if you like it hot, add more chilies, if you prefer it mild, use less. Enjoy!

Season pork with salt, pepper and garlic powder and place in the crock pot. Add 6 oz of coke and 1/4 cup of brown sugar. Marinate refrigerated for a few hours or overnight turning meat at least once while marinating.

Remove crock from refrigerator, add water, and cook on high for about 3-4 hours (or until it shreds easily). Remove pork from crock pot and discard any liquid left in the pot. Shred pork with two forks.

I made the pernil last night, it was SO good, everyone loved it, and tonight I'm making the cuban quesadillas. I will be using this recipe for a 2nd roast next week, it sounds so good. Thanks Gina for the great recipes, you really keep me on track and I don't have to make everyone else something different- that used to really frustrate me, now no one knows it's even WW :)

This looks YUMMY!! Suggestion on calculating the marinade: How about weighing the marinade before and after and adjust accordingly? I have done this in the past w/success or at least gotten pretty close to the absorbed points. Thanks again for a great recipe, I love so many of the ones I’ve tried so far!!

I joined WW almost 2 weeks ago and must say that I am THRILLED to have found your blog! You provide so many yummy food options proving that food can still be enjoyable! Last weekend I made your enchilada's, today I made your black bean soup (it was delicious), I have your breakfast stratta cooking in the oven for tomorrow and now I can't wait to try this pork recipe! Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Is there any non soda sub for the coke zero? My husband can't have caramel color or splenda. He's allergic to both. I can do natural sodas such as Hansen's if there is anything by them that would work.

Two questions, Gina: 1) You mentioned that you counted the cola -- but I thought Coke Zero had 0 points. Was the zero part a typo and should we use regular Coke? 2) Does pork loin cook differently than pork tenderloin? I don't fix pork too often, and have never used a pork loin. What is the difference, other than size? Thanks for another delicious-sounding recipe.

A Cafe Rio opened up recently and that has become a special place to treat ourselves at work. I always get the pork barbacoa (its awesome) and use up all my points so I'll be curious to hear what others think about this friendly version. I'll definately post as soon as I try it. Oh yea, I second the need for the cilantro dressing to be Ginasized. Thanks!!!

I don't live near a Cafe Rio, so don't know what this is suppose to taste like, but that being said, this was delicious! It was stated that this was a "keeper" recipe by my daughter's family! I did use regular coke, so the point value did go up, but I just don't use any of that artificial sweetener. It was worth the extra points! Thank your for all of your great recipes!

Gina, this was absolutely delicious! I made it with the cilantro lime rice and Cuban Black Beans as recommended, and it was to die for! My husband thinks I am the best cook ever now, thanks to your site! I literally make almost every dinner from your site. THANK YOU! This is a definite keeper, and I can't wait to make it for family and friends!

I made this and used the whole can as we love spicy, it was perfect for us!! Gina, You have saved my WW life. I have tried several of the recipes from their site and really did not care for them, I have made this and the Cilantro Lime Shrimp and we love both ALOT! Thank you so much!

I made this on Monday...it was amazing! We don't like things very spicy, so there were no peppers involved, but I loved the sweet flavor! I have never made pulled pork. You are giving me so many fun things to try! Thanks so much!

Made this for dinner tonight and both my husband and I loved it. I did serve over Cilantro Lime Rice. I just want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for this website which provides all of us. Your time and creativity is greatly appreciated. Also, this is the first time being on a diet (weight watchers) were the food is good enough to eat even when I am not. THANKS!

Gina, We just finished up the leftovers in the burrito bowl. Our 23 yo son just happened to drop in, he said it was the best food ever, he is a top notch cook, so that was quiet the compliment! I second Cathy, thank you for your time and efforts, we love you!

This may be a super silly question, but I'm new to the crockpot...rather than cooking on high for 4 hours, could I cook it on low for 8? I would love to make this during the week, but with work, I need a recipe that can cook for a longer amount of time. Can't wait to try this one!! - Abby

I just saw that someone commented about how this doesn't taste like diet food, I agree with this SO much. I could feed my boyfriend all the low fat food in the world and he still swears it tastes "healthy". Your recipes are the only healthy recipes that I can make for him!

i made this yesterday, and it was very good. my boyfriend liked it. i made it with the cilantro lime rice, which i ended up throwing out (should have known i wouldn't have liked it...not a big fan of lime/citrus flavors in my food). I also made your black beans, but I'm pretty sure I screwed up somewhere because they were extra spicy. my boyfriend liked them though.

to the person that asked about how long to put it in on low, i left this in the crockpot all day on low. it was in there for about 10 hours, before the additional hour and a half. it did not burn or anything, and was super easy to shred.

So happy I found your blog! I'm excited to try this version of the Cafe Rio sweet pork! I love it but all the sugar in it makes it a rare thing for me. And yes, the cilantro lime dressing from Cafe Rio is fantastic! I have the recipe for it (non-light version of course) and my sister-in-law makes it light all the time with good results. I can email you the recipe I have if you want to try and make a lighter version!

making this today, the first recipe I'm trying from your site. I'm excited but a little concerned because the pork didn't shred as easily as I've seen with previous recipes. I'm used to doing it on low for about 8 hours. Hope it still turns out.

I recently discovered your blog and tried this over the cilantro lime rice. Phenomenal doesn't begin to describe it! My husband and I agreed this is better than Chipotle and we quickly decided this would be a weekly menu item. Thank you so much for a light but amazingly delicious recipe! We can't wait to try more of your recipes.

A burrito bowl is basically a burrito in a bowl, without the tortilla. Chipotle is a chain here in the states that I'm addicted to. It usually starts with cilantro lime rice, beans, choice of meat, some kind of salsa (I like the corn salsa) lettuce, cheese and some put guacamole. It's addicting and pretty simple to make yourself. I've recreated a lot of the dishes.

This pork was inspired from Cafe Rio, the eat this over a salad with beans and the cilantro tomatillo dressing on my site.

You don't find that putting a pork loin roast in to the slowcooker dries it out? Our butcher keeps warning us that it's too lean a cut of port to put into a crockpot -- and I notice you carnitas use a lean shoulder blade roast.

Hey Gina, I cooked the pork on high for about 3 hrs. and 45 minutes and it was too tough to shred. I'm off to class in a little while so I followed through w/ the rest of the recipe, but the pork isn't shredded and won't be shredded until I get back tonight. I changed the temp from high to low so it can just simmer all day. Will this change the outcome of the recipe in your opinion? Wow, sorry for the novel!

Gina, Just found your site a couple weeks ago and have been LOVING it! I've already shared recipes with a friend a co-worker and my mom. I wanted to try this today and am wondering what's the minimum amount of time to marinate this and still get it right?Thanks for all the great recipes!Erica

Hi Gina!This sounds delicious, except that I don't like pork... I would like to make it using chicken instead, do you know how long I would cook the chicken breasts in the crockpot if I used 2.5 pounds like the recipe calls for? And do you think chicken breasts would work?

I work late and could not follow the recipe exactly so I marinated the pork overnight and then dumped all the rest of the ingredients in the crockpot on low for 8 hours (plus about 2 on warm). The meat was moist and flavorful, but this technique makes a "wetter" meal - but still very delicious! Even my toddlers enjoyed it. Perfect with the cilantro lime rice! Thank you!

Re my comments above - just back from another trip to the US and experienced my first Chipotle Burrito bowl and avoided 5 Guys this time. It is a long weekend here and I am just about to to print off some of your wonderful recipes. Thannks for this site.

This recipe was a huge hit at my house. I have my husband score my meals on a scale of 1-5 stars and he has NEVER GIVEN ME A 5/5 before I made the Barbacoa Pork with Lime Rice and Cuban Style Black Beans!!!

I have a question, it might sound odd, but I thought I should ask.... Is it possible to use chops for this recipe instead of a roast? I ask because I am having people over for dinner and I took out chops & it turns out that one of the people is unable to chew them so it needs to be shredded. I would love to make this recipe, but I didn't want to just try it and not know if its a good idea or not. Please let me know as soon as you can because it is tomorrow. :) Thanks

Made this for my family today. My mum wasn't a fan of it, but she's not a fan of soda and sweet-with-meat.

I thought it was pretty delicious, and it's definitely something I'm gonna be making for myself when I move into my own place and don't have my mother to complain about "meat isn't supposed to be sweet!" *grin*

I made this last night (along with your cilantro lime rice and black beans--though I made them with dry beans) and it is so unbelievably yummy. I only got a couple of bites as I was making this for our lunches this week...I can't wait to eat my lunch.

Saw this on your top 20 of 2011 list and had to try it. I marinated it overnight but had accidentally added the water from the get go, so the marinate was a little weaker than your recipe. I cooked it on low for about 10 hours, then added all the step 2 ingredients and cooked on high for another hour. We used 2 chipotle chili peppers in adobo sauce because we like the spice and the flavor of them. This was really good! We don't have a Cafe Rio, so I can't compare it, but this was great and we'll definitely make it again.

I see others have asked, but I don't think there has been an answer yet (sorry if I missed the answer!) Is there a replacement for the chipotle chile in adobo sauce? I searched all over (Including the specialty Mexican food section of multiple grocery stores) and can't find it! If there is no substitute, do you recommend adding any additional spices or anything in place of it? I really want to make this dinner (It's been on my to-do list for months!) and I don't want to sacrifice the taste (or delicious heat!) by leaving out a potentially important ingredient. Thanks! :)

I made this last night for dinner. We did the burrito bowl idea, OMG it was DELICIOUS! And it's even better re-heated for a burrito bowl for lunch. I <3 this recipe! I have been telling everyone about your site Gina in my blog on Weight Watchers and they are loving it too! I am soo grateful to you for doing this website, if you hadn't been doing this I would have failed by now at Weight Watchers! SO THANK YOU!!

I changed up some of your recipe to make it spicier instead of sweet. Thanks so much for sharing and giving me a springboard to play with creatively! The cilantro lime rice is especially good with short grain brown rice and a little extra lime juice!!! It was a great dinner tonight! Thanks so much!!!

So delicious! I love Chipotle and this was even better - I made it with your cilantro rice and corn salsa and it smelled just like Chipotle's as it came together! I could eat this every week, thank you!!

Anyone have tips on how to convert this recipe from crock pot to dutch oven?? First time trying out a conversion and not entirely sure on cook times/temps! If anyone could help that would be great :) If it helps I have a Le Creuset 7 1/4 dutch oven

Absolutely delicious! We served it with cilantro rice, pineapple salsa (chopped fresh pineapple, jalepeno, onion, and red bell pepper), black beans, and lettuce. The next day I ate it as a salad too. I might add another chipotle pepper the next time for a little more heat.Thanks, Gina!

Was so excited to make this and I was not disappointed! Had to cook on high for 5 hrs or so since I started it late. I was worried it would be dry because of this but it turned out absolutely perfect. Love the addition of Adobo seasoning. I'll get great use out of this new spice for sure. Thanks for such an amazing recipe! Wish I would have doubled it so we could have even more leftovers.

THIS IS AMAZING! I couldn't wait until I was finished eating to comment, so I have a mouthful as I type. This is one of the best dishes I've ever had. I made it over the cilantro lime rice. My boyfriend took one bite and fell in love! You are the best, Gina!!

I made this last night. Yums! I really enjoyed it, but my husband went "Cookoo for Cocoa Puffs" over it! :) I didn't have the time (because I work all day) to split up the cooking, so I added all ingredients (after marinating the pork the night before) into the Crock Pot on low for 8hrs and it came out fine. Just FYI this is an option. ;)

Has anyone ever had their pork turn a a funny color after it was marinated? I decided I was going to marinate it and then freeze it for later. I made the marinade and put it and the pork in a big ziplock bag. I left it in the fridge for about 12 hours. When I went to put in the freezer the pork had turned a weird blue/green color! It was totally fresh meat and hadn't been left out at all! It still smelled fine and wasn't slimy or anything. Just a weird color! Any ideas?

Thank you Gina for sharing your wonderful recipes. I did the shrimp fried rice which was excellent and just did the whole shootin' match tonight. Lime Cilantro Rice, Cuban Black Beans and this wonderful Carnitas. UUUUUMMMMM!!! YUM!! It was so delicious and I am eating healthy. I can't wait to try the other Carnita recipe with a salad and avocado. Thanks again.

Gina, you are a god send!!! I made this yesterday with every intention of it being last night's dinner, but it had to wait until today. I made the Fiesta Lime Rice (added some fresh orange pepper for some crunch) and had 1/2 an avocado (I still need to eat more points)... and I can't tell you how IN LOVE I am. This was sooooo fantastic... portion was perfect for me. I'm adding both to Pintrest and my FB wall... I hope more people will try this out! Thanks so much!... Shari

Do all your recipes get such a big interest? I pinned this on Pinterest 32 weeks ago and over 1,200 people have repinned it! I had to put pinterest in my spam folder because I get a notification for each pin. lol

Just made this last night. I hate cola, so I was concerned that it might have some cola taste, but I worried for nothing. It was very tasty! I also just used some of the sauce from the can of chipotle peppers; that was plenty spicy for us.

This is my favorite recipe on your website so far, and I've tried quite a few. I followed your recipe to a tee but I usually put in three chipotles, sometimes even four. I recommend that once your add in the chipotles and all of the ingredients that make up the sauce you taste it until it tastes good to you before adding in the shredded pork. I think I added in a little more diced green chilis, too, because they only had 4.5 oz cans and the recipe called for 6 oz. So I used about 1 1/2 cans. It is my FAVORITE, I've made it three times in the past month. I serve it over your Cuban black beans and cilantro lime rice and it tastes like a delicious sweet and spicy (extra chipotles, hehe) burrito... SO much flavor! Make sure you take the chipotles out of the pork before serving, my fiance bit down on a piece of one (it fell apart while cooking) and it was burning his mouth up!

I always have so much pork leftover that it goes bad, even after my husband and I eat this for 3 meals. I am wondering if you have any other ideas for this pork as it doesn't taste very good as a substitute in BBQ Pork recipes.

My family and I have been trying to eat healthier this year. I recently discovered your blog, and this was the first thing I made. It was so easy and SO GOOD! Everyone raved about it! We had PLENTY for two meals.

This evening, we had "naked burritos." I made a dressing by blending fat free sour cream, salsa, and a couple of leftover chipotle peppers and adobo sauce in the food processor. It was incredible with the pork and sliced avocado.

I am absolutely putting this recipe in my box. I've already sent the link to everyone!

GREAT recipe! added one extra chipotle pepper in adobo and seared the pork. also, for those interested, i used a pressure cooker, not my slow cooker, and it turned out perfect. i cooked the pork in the marinade on "low" for about 45 minutes and then shredded (large chunk) the pork and cooked it in the sauce for an additional 20 minutes, again on low. perfect texture and the sauce was awesome (i also let it simmer for an additional 10 minutes uncovered in the pot while our cilantro lime rice finished).will definitely make again! thanks gina!

So, I'm reading this recipe and realizing that I may have royally screwed up dinner tonight! This is what I get for multi-tasking pre-coffee in the morning before work. I did the sauce components with the meat while it's cooking.

Like Bethany, so so glad I found you. Just made the sweet barbacoa for the family. I put in one chipotle pepper then took it out after half hour in the slow cooker. My kids cant handle too much heat. What a hit! My picky 7-year old asked for seconds. My husband was surprised it was WW friendly. In his words, "This is too freakin' delicious."

Your website is gorgeous and well laid out. Can't wait to try other recipes. Thank you for all your hard work. It shows.

I accidentally put this in on low for 2 hours and then tried to turn up the heat but it never turned out right (didn't shred well and was overcooked) :( I did find the sauce a little sweet, but it was DELICIOUS over cilantro lime brown rice--helped temper the tart with some sweet. Have to read directions next time! LOL Thanks Gina.

Love this recipe Gina! We are going to OBX with three other couples in a few weeks and this is going to be my meal when its our night to cook. We are feeding 8 adults and 10 children. I'm going to at least double the recipe. Question - will the cooking time be the same if I get a 6 or 7 lb piece of pork? Or would you suggest putting 2 or 3 tenderloins in the crock pot? Any suggestions would be great!

Chipotle chiles in adobo sauce are available (canned) in most grocery stores. Not sure which aisle. Check Mexican/Spanish section or ask grocer. They usually come in a small can, several chiles per can.

To see what it looks like (so you will know what to look for), use google images to search for 'chipotle chiles in adobo sauce'. Hope this helps.

I've cooked this about 5 times now, a few times with 5lb roasts (in just a few months). It is my new FAVORITE pulled pork recipe. The thing is I've never gotten past Step 1. When the marinated pork loin comes out of the crock pot, it tastes so awesome as is, that I never get to make the final sauce. We gobble it up with just some of the pan juices. I save a small container of the cooking liquid to flavor the leftovers, and that's it.

Someday I hope to get around to making the sauce (Step 2). I'm sure that is also delicious. Thank you very much for publishing this wonderful recipe. I've tried quite a few pulled pork recipes, and for my taste nothing comes close to this one - and it's so easy to throw together. I LOVE it!

Very good. Made a version using Adobo I had picked up in Belize earlier this year which was deep deep red. Also added some cilantro and cut up a lime to toss in the crock pot. Very good and popular with everyone here. Keep up the excellent work!

Excellent! I used regular coke instead of coke zero. We like bold flavors so I pretty much doubled everything except for the tomato sauce, brown sugar and coke. We made "chipotle" style bowls with lettuce, cilantro lime rice, cuban style black beans, cheese, avacado, lime, sour cream and hot sauce. This recipe has made pinterest worthwhile and I'm going to follow this blog. 3 recipes for 3 were all excellent!

I can't believe I am admitting this but I added the whole can of chipole peppers....I was breathing fire and my husband said he may have 3rd degree burns in his mouth...lol...I had never used these peppers before and thought it meant 1 can. Thanks for all the time and energy u put into posting these recipes. Amy

I don't usual comment on recipes, but for this one, I HAD to - I made this recipe yesterday (with brown rice and your corn salsa), and according to my hubby, this is the BEST THING I HAVE EVER MADE. I have cooked a LOT in our 5.5 years of marriage, and he is a VERY hard to please eater. The only changes I made were out of necessity - I only had 1/4 cup tomato sauce (oops!), so I used 3/4 cup ketchup in place of it (whatever point change it made was worth it...YUM), and I only had a 4 oz can green chiles, and no chile in adobo sauce. But still, I was DELICIOUS. Even my toddler gobbled up the pork (and corn salsa...corn only of course, little goober), and she NEVER eats meat when I give it to her.

Gina, I thank you for posting this recipe....and I look forward to making it again and again! To hear my husband say it's the best thing I've ever made...let's just say you have made my day...or really, my month! :)

I'm not sure if I commented on this a couple years ago when I ran into this recipe, but I keep coming back to it. This is hands down my favorite recipe for sweet pork. And I have tried more than a few looking for the perfect balance of flavor. I am a stubborn cook that usually hates to follow recipes out of some sort of pride to make things "mine," but this is a recipe I follow to a T, and it comes out perfect, every time. We love to eat it salad style with a tomatillo cilantro ranch dressing. Thanks so much!

Made this for my SUPER picky hubby 2 nights ago...he's so picky he hates french fries!! (ahhh!) HE ATE THIS UP!!! He and I both loved it and he even bragged about it to his fellow coworkers. Thanks for making me look good! :D My sisters and I are so buying your cookbook when it drops. :)

Question about the overnight refrigeration. My crock pot manual says not to refrigerate the bowl because it will take too long to heat the bowl up before it starts cooking the food. Wondering the importance of marinating in the crock bowl - are those directions for convenience or purposeful instructions impacting the cook times of the recipe?